Message posted by: Tanya J.

I'm on here often reading other people's posts, but don't often post myself. I wanted to share this though.

I finished my first triathlon today, the Ryka Iron Girl Triathlon in Columbia, MD: 0.62 mi. swim, 17.5 mi. bike, 3.4 mi. run. My goal was to finish (of course) and to do it in less than 2 hours. I got a 1:51:44, placed 17 of 255 in my age group (25-29), 91 of 1671 overall, and 16 of 803 newbie triathletes (a lot of first-timers). I'm very happy:)

Here are some of my notes on what worked and what I struggled with.

The swim was in a lake and it was the hardest part. As people say, it is hard to swim straight. I got off course one time, and then started sighting more often. I wanted to drag off someone, but could not find anyone going the same pace. Also the water was so green I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. I think it was good that I paced myself and didn't go too fast though.

Transition 1: could have been faster. It was hard to get my socks and shoes on! I didn't want to try it without socks. I also stopped to drink some Gatoraid and eat some blocks. I really like the blocks much better than the gel. I wanted to be sure to avoid cramps. Probably could have eaten them on the bike rather than during the transition.

Bike: this went well…not really any complaints here except a car stopped in front of me when I was trying to get by them. I'm happy the roads were dry and it was a safe ride.

Transition 2: I forgot to pin my number on…in fact I left it in the car, so the official let me go. Oops:) It took some time to tie my shoe laces on my running shoes. I like laces, but it did slow me down to have to tie them. I ate some more blocks.

Run: This was pretty good as well. I could have kicked it in a little faster at the end, but overall very happy. No cramps and felt pretty good. I'm sure tomorrow I'll be hurting!

It was a very well-run event. I recommend it for any women doing their first triathlon. Let me know if you have any questions. Thank you everyone for posting such good advice. That helped me so much for my first triathlon!

-Tanya

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